Why do rockers wear suits?

[Barn Owl]

Not a funny but a serious query.

I've been watching a few vids on the tube and it rather galls me to see musicians of the more rocker type wearing suits.

Why do they do it?
I've always thought it to be the worst type of clothing along with a tie to be worn for any reason.
Uncomfortable, restricting and of no practicle use in my opinion.

Just a simpletons thoughts,can anyone help me understand?

 

[Toddy]

I was waiting for a punch line


M

 

[Shewie]

Is an age thing? Let's be honest, most of them are knocking on a bit now

 

[Retired Member southey]

is it a kind of poke in the eye for the suits, non conformist conformity, you know artsy stuff and south bank show pomposity, rocking from within, the ghost in the machine, Its all relative Tam!

 

[lou1661]

If you need to ask, your too un-cool to know, man

 

[JonathanD]

Suits are smart. I love suits. Nothing like a well cut English suit and only the Italians are anywhere near capable of wearing them as well as us Brits. We rock suits. Ooooh, there's your answer!

 

[DavidJT]

Irony, and for a rocker it's actually more rebellious to wear a suit than the cliche leather and denim.

 

[JonathanD]

Irony, and for a rocker it's actually more rebellious to wear a suit than the cliche leather and denim.

Well, yeah, I suppose it is now. Everyone wears leather and jeans nowadays. Bank staff used to wear only suits, now they wear polo's and casual slacks. Smart has been dumbed down and the suit wearer is now the odd one out. If you walk through town and look at the majority of suit wearing folk, they are ill fitting and worn in. Back in the day, everyone had suits that fitted and they were cared for and well pressed daily. It seems they are worn and cared for the same way overalls are in this era.

 

[santaman2000]

Irony, and for a rocker it's actually more rebellious to wear a suit than the cliche leather and denim.

Also ironic that the original rockers (early 1950s era) always wore suits.

 

[JonathanD]

That's what I mean. Suits were far more common than jeans and T's back then. Now it's the other way around and then some.

 

[BillyBlade]

As has been said, it's a rebellion of identity. Same reason bikers post WW2 took the swastika as a symbol, despite them being veterans, and still wear the tattoo and badge today.

There was actually a really good program on BBC2 some years back that covered, amongst other things, the suit aspect of rock and roll.

 

[santaman2000]

I would suppose that the true professional rckers (like any performer) wears what they expect their intended audience wants to see them in. After all, their livelihood depends on that audience at the end of the day. Comfort is and always will be secondary to pleasing the customer.

Whether are not it has the intended effect is another discussion altogether.

 

[JonathanD]

A suit can be just as comfortable as any other item of clothing. It just needs to fit correctly.

 

[garethw]

No no no... no, no... Rockers wore greasy leather and dirty clobber, diabolical!!!
Mods wore suits.. three buttons, 16 inch bottoms, handsome!!!

cheers
Gareth

 

[santaman2000]

I think so too, at least indoors or in a mild climate. But some people do have a phobia about wearing closed collars, let alone ties.

 

[Barn Owl]

Nothing wrong with suits in the proper context but on stage?...

I don't like them myself as i had to wear them for a while and hated them, fitted or not.

 

[BillyBlade]

I think so too, at least indoors or in a mild climate. But some people do have a phobia about wearing closed collars, let alone ties.

I'm one of them. I utterly detest a closed collar, and more so a tie. With good reason on the tie.

 

[TurboGirl]

HWMBO used to stride into the leicester rock nights in a beautiful fitted suit and tie- oily leather-clads would part before him and he looked fiiiiine- different, comfortable, like a wolf amongst sheep, all the lasses would touch the fine wool and flock around him. It was rebelliousness but being pressed into a large cooing pack of rock chicks was probably more motivation than he admits to

 

[Ed]

Christenings, weddings and funerals (unless its a biker funeral) are the only time I wear a suit ..... Rocker to the heart!

Ed

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

Irony, and for a rocker it's actually more rebellious to wear a suit than the cliche leather and denim.

No 80's & 90's power metal guy's wore the denim, the mid period was my generation Goth (yes I was one), and now it's Emo striped down Goth for the weak and feeble.

Not a funny but a serious query.

I've been watching a few vids on the tube and it rather galls me to see musicians of the more rocker type wearing suits.

Why do they do it?
I've always thought it to be the worst type of clothing along with a tie to be worn for any reason.
Uncomfortable, restricting and of no practicle use in my opinion.

Just a simpletons thoughts,can anyone help me understand?

To be honest it's not rockers (playing 3 chords on a Guitar dose not a rocker make) I see a lot of them on Friday and Saturday night around Liverpool, they are all what me and my mates call new age lounge lizard. They are trying to emulate the ratpack in style of dress with a few modern twists, i.e. forgetting the hat and updating the accessories, but ignoring the great lounge music of the era they are emulating and going for slightly edgy pop music that's heavy on the auto tune and pre keyed guitar riffs that they lack the skill to really pull off.